Abstract The Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Adherence and Signal Transduction is a premier international Scientific conference that brings together researchers with a shared interest in understanding the diverse mechanisms bacteria have evolved to interact with the environment, each other and with animal hosts. The meeting is held biennially at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. The 2017 meeting will be held July 23-28 and will have an associated Gordon Research Seminar to (i) provide students and postdocs a basic background in the concepts, principles, and mechanisms involved in different areas of microbial adhesion and signal transduction; (ii) promote the interaction of junior investigators with their peers and selected senior members of the field (keynote speaker and discussion leaders); (iii) provide feedback on their research, thereby sharpening their presentation skills and the sophistication of their discussions in preparation for the main meeting and beyond. The GRC will focus on scientific questions of how microbes sense, respond, colonize, and eventually spread in both the environment and in host organisms. Attendees will include an equal distribution of independent investigators, post-doctoral scholars, and graduate students. Genetic, biochemical, cell biological, immunological and structural biology approaches will all be represented. There will be nine seminar sessions with session leaders that will provide an overview of the topic and stimulate discussion from the attendees. The 2017 meeting will be chaired by co-chairs Nina Salama (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA) and Christoph Dehio (University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland) and the elected vice-chairs Renee Tsolis (University of California, Davis, CA) and Petra Dersch (Helmholz Center for Infectious Research, Braunschweig, Germany). This meeting provides a forum where cutting edge research will be presented on the mechanisms controlling bacterial adherence and signal transduction. There are slots reserved in thematic seminar sessions for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, giving them an opportunity to share their discoveries and gain exposure at a high-impact international conference. The GRS will be co-chaired by Salim Islam (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Montral, Canada) and Beihbinn McGeever, who were elected by the participants of the 2015 GRS. This meeting provides an environment that enables networking and collaboration among investigators, and gives post-doctoral researchers and graduate students access to influential leaders in the field of microbial adherence and signal transduction. The program includes many new investigators that have not previously presented their research at this meeting, and includes new sessions that reflect the multi-disciplinary approaches being used to address questions of seminal importance in the field.